Magnetic Attraction
by x-menobsessed26
Summary: Lorna left the Institute and Scott years ago, but when their lives are pushed together again, will love overcome the rough waters of their pasts?
1. Anomalies of Memory

**No need to know who Lorna is. I will explain. She WASN'T in the show.**

Scott woke to the bright sunlight of a new day streaming in through his windows. Jean knocked on his door and walked in, "Good morning!"

He mumbled something incomprehensible that must have been the same as she said. Jean just laughed and pulled off his covers using her telekinesis. Somehow she managed to wake him up and get him moving, a feat not so easily accomplished.

When they finally got downstairs, all of the students had gone to school, and it was just Ororo, Logan, Charles, and Hank. They were engaged in a conversation over the remains of breakfast. Ororo passed them two plates she had saved. Scott shot her a grateful look that she missed being so intrigued by whatever Hank was saying.

Scott and Jean sat down and tried to listen in to Hank's speech too, "I'm telling you! Magneto is still in Brazil!"

Charles looked at Hank, "Then what could be causing these magnetic disturbances in the area."

Scott looked at Logan and noticed he looked a little guilty, "Do you have something to add?"

Logan's eyes flicked dangerously up to the younger man's, reminding Scott of just how much damage he could do, "Mind your manners. If I have something to say, I'll say it and not before."

While Scott had been talking to Logan, Jean had asked if it was a different mutant. Charles shook his head, "Not possible. If it was a new mutant in the area that we hadn't seen before, Cerebro would be going crazy. I don't understand! The Earth's patterns are exactly as they should be so no natural anomalies could explain it."

Jean shrugged, "Well, Magneto is the only magnetokinetic we know of, so maybe his powers have increased and he can control it from Brazil."

Now it was Hank's turn to shake his head, "Even with Magneto's extraordinary capabilities, it's nearly impossible for that to be the case."

They then got engaged in another argument over what was going on. One phrase kept playing over and over in Scott's mind though. For some reason he didn't know, his mind was stuck on it. _Only magnetokinetic we know of; only magnetokinetic we know of..._

Scott shot up, "Oh my GOD!"

Everyone at the table except Logan, who looked even more guilty that he had, was startled. Jean looked at him, "What?"

Scott shook his head as if to clear it of unpleasant thoughts and didn't answer. Now Jean stood and took his arms, "What? Scott, tell me!"

He looked at her with an expression of extreme depression, anger, and guilt, "Lorna."


	2. Who is Lorna Dane?

The silence that filled the air was thick with emotion ranging from shock, shame, and sorrow. No one had ever seen Logan look anything like he did right now. He looked like he wanted the floor to swollow him up. Scott's mind was clearly somewhere else and the rest of them were just stuck in silent shock.

Jean was the first to recover, "I-I thought she left New York."

Charles looked at Logan, "Do you care to explain?"

Logan shook his head, "I should wait. The rest of the X-men are coming."

Kitty, Kurt, and Rogue all came in and sat next to the older mutants, clearly knowing something was up. They all waited for something to be said. Finally Charles sighed and said, "You all know that there have been magnetic disturbances in Bayville. We think we've found out what's causing them."

"Uh, Magneto?" Kitty said while Kurt was clearly supressing a laugh.

"Not by a long shot," Hank said, wiping the smirks right off of their faces.

"Then who?"

A strangled sound came from the throat of Scott followed by a hoarse, "Lorna."

Rogue's brow furrowed, "Who?"

Scott looked at her with such an intensity, though no anger was involved, that she flinched, "Lorna Dane. She...she used to go here."

"Before our time?" Kurt asked.

Jean nodded, "Long before."

"Why isn't she here anymore?" Rogue asked. "If she went bad-"

Scott shot up out of the chair he had just sat back down in, "She _didn't _go bad!Sh-she couldn't. She wouldn't."

"How do you know? How well did you know her?"

Scott gave a laugh with no humor that made everyone look away from him for fear of setting him off. "I knew her well. Better than anyone. At least, I thought I did, but," Scott looked at Logan. "obviously someone knew better."

Logan glared at the young man, "I didn't turn my back on her when someone else more interesting came along. I didn't make promises I didn't keep."

That shut Scott up, but Rogue was still persistent, "Who is she though? Why is she attacking the magnetic structure of her ex-home? Why are you, Scott and Logan, the most passionate about her?"

Scott sighed and put a hand over his face, rubbing his temples. After a long pause, he looked at Rogue, Kitty, and Kurt. The amount of pain on his face was enough to make their heart's squeeze sympathetically.

"She was...my girlfriend."


	3. Friendship's Beginning

**I apologize for the chapters which I now realize are very short. This will hopefully change in the coming chapters. For anyone who is wondering, _this_ is the chapter where I explain Lorna Dane. I didn't break my promise; I just simply postponed the explaination.**

**Just a small warning. There are flashbacks in this chapter. They're not going to be bold or italics or something with the font. I use those with different things, like this author's note. The flashbacks will be broken by a line and they're in logical places. If you think it sounds like a flashback, it's probably a flashback. I'm even planning on putting it (the word flashback) in brackets just to be nice.**

**Just to let you know these backgrounds aren't NEARLY like the comics. If that's what you know, I hope you're open to new ideas.**

Silence was sure to become the logo of the Xavier Institute if the situation kept up the way it was. Kitty's eyes were the size of dinner plates, with Kurt's being a fraction smaller, and both had their mouths dropped open so far it was a wonder they didn't break their jaws on the table. Rogue sat back and crossed her arms over her chest, clearly waiting for an explaination. For everyone except Scott, it was information they had known for a long time and wasn't shocking in the slightest. For Scott, it made everything that had happened between them real.

"So you two had a falling out?" Rogue guessed.

Scott laughed harshly, "You could say that."

"Why don't you start from the beginning? It would refresh our memories and inform the rest," Ororo said gently, placing a hand on the young man's shoulder.

Scott took a deep breath before he began, "It all began when I was eight..."

* * *

><p>[Flashback]<p>

Scott looked out the windows of the slick black car and felt a pang each time they passed the houses. Each was similar in look, like many towns across the country, with their pastel colored walls, inside and out, white picket fence, and perfect green lawns. Even worse was the slice he felt through his heart everytime he saw a family, something he would never have again.

Tears swirled in his eyes, but he refused to let them fall, staring up at the ceiling. He'd cried too much already. They'd never think of him as a man now.

They pulled in front of a building that looked worn, but still in good condition, with a sign reading 'Redbury Orphanage'. With no mom, dad, or brother and no other family he can remember, he was going to be here until he turned eighteen. After all, he knew no one good would want him, and if someone bad got him, he would run away. He had decided that in the hospital.

He walked inside with a tall stoic man and short kindhearted woman, feeling more small than he had ever before. Inside they could hear the laughter and cries that screamed school yard rather than living quarters of minors. To say he was scared is the understatement of the millenia. Another woman, this one with a warm, instantely appealing smile, came out of her office talking with a high school aged kid. She spotted them and came over with the teen.

"Hello, you must be Scott Summers," she said, ignoring the adult presence entirely, much to their dismay. "I'm Sara. I'll be taking care of you here, along with the help of some of the older kids, like Jeremy here. Jeremy, please take Scott to the room he's sharing with Erik and Ronald."

"Sure. C'mon Scott," Jeremy said, picking up the bag Scott had brought with him filled with a few keepsakes from home. "It's not as bad and scary as it seems here. Some of the kids are your stereotypical orphan jerks, but others are extremely nice. We're not all juvenile delinquents."

Scott just nodded with what he said, whatever he said. He was so scared. He was shaking so bad he was amazed he could still walk up the two flights of stairs.

"Erik and Ron are cool. They're pretty nice. Erik is 12 and a total kid genius. Ron is 13 and is consumed with sports. I don't know how _anyone_ can like sports as much as he does. They'll be good roommates. Be glad you weren't stuck with the DeLauneys or Raymonds or (he shuttered) the Hudingtons. Talk about families with problems."

Scott prayed he wouldn't have to meet them. When he got into his room, Ronald Maury was tossing a ball up in the air and catching it in his glove while lounging comfortably on his bed, while Erik was surrounded by textbooks so big one would strain Scott's muscles.

Ron smiled he noticed them and tossed a paper ball at Erik, "Hey, Er! Look who's here."

Erik looked up annoyed at first and clearly ready to chew Ron out, but then saw the two in the doorway and his face softened, "Hi! Your bed's over there."

Scott saw it was on the opposite side of the room, with a shelf above to hold knick-knacks, and a nightstand with a lamp and alarm clock. There was also a trunk at the foot of his bed to which a key was laying on top. Jeremy gave Scott a pat on the back, "Good luck kid. Have fun at R.O."

He walked out leaving Scott in the presence of two guys who couldn't be more different than him if they tried. As much as some kids at this new place were nice over the next few weeks, he found himself often in the wrong place at the wrong time doing the wrong things. He was ready to pack up his stuff and leave one day, when at dinner he stood and walked outside and ran into the nearby forest. Climbing up a pine out of sight, but still clearly safe on the massive branches, he pulled his knees up to his chest and cried.

He wasn't aware of someone else in the presence of his tears until they accidently fell over. Scott jumped and quickly wipped the remaining drops from his cheeks, "Who's there?"

A small head popped up with bright green curls and eyes and lips to match. She looked like a deer in the headlights for a moment, but she finally picked herself up and sat on a part the branch they shared right in front of Scott, "I saw you leave dinner. I wondered why."

Looking at her now, he could see she wasn't just the cute little girl he had first thought. She actually looked about seven or eight just like him, "I didn't mean to cause a fuss."

She shook her head, causing her curls to encase her head like a protective shell, "Oh, you didn't. I always notice those things. No one likes me so it's easy to slip into the back."

He was about to ask why they never noticed her when he remembered, "Because of your hair?"

She nodded, "They don't like me because I'm different. It's okay though. I'll find a friend someday."

He averted his eyes, "I-I'll...be your friend...if you...want..."

Her lime green eyes lit up like christmas lights, "Really?"

"Really."

They spent the rest of that night talking about the school and how mean the other kids were, especially to Scott and Lorna. They found they both enjoyed many of the same things. It seemed like the start of a beautiful friendship.

[End Flashback]

* * *

><p>Kitty shook her head, "But...if you two were such good friends then, what happened at the orphanage?"<p>

Now it was Scott's turn to shake his head, "No Kitty. It didn't happen at the orphanage. It was a lot more complex than that."

And so another story began about the same tragic friendship.

**I didn't get it as long as I wanted, but I wanted to get it up today. I promise there will be more history next chapter, as I wanted in this. I wanted to continue with the story, but I think everyone can wait with me. It's getting harder and harder to keep up with the demands of high school, fanfiction, and life. I'm sure anyone reading this can understand or try to at least.**

**Review please! =)**


	4. Adoption

**Review at the end of this chapter please! I'd like to know what I'm doing right and wrong so far! This entire chapter is a flashback, but I'll still leave start and stop up, just in case some of you don't read this message.**

[start Flashback]

Scott was trying not to laugh at the extremely stupid Simon Simmons. This time, he had really out stupified himself. Suddenly, none of what Simon did mattered anymore, and the memory left his brain for a second while an absolutely splitting headache sliced through his forehead. There was an intense burning behind his eyes. These headaches had been happening more and more, and they kept getting worse. He was standing in the front yard of the orphanage, surrounded by laughing children and teens, unaware of the chaos about to unfold beside them.

Suddenly, Scott opened his eyes as the pain in his skull vanished, the only scar being a memory, and the burning intensified behind his eyes. He hoped opening them would stop the burning. A scarlet stream shot out from both of his eyes, smashing it's concussive energy into everything in its path, which happened to be a bunch of now screaming children. He hit one, alerting the rest to the threat as they all ran for cover. Not that it would help. The beam smashed into the side of the orphanage, and more screams could be heard inside.

"Somebody help me! Please!" Scott said, looking around. No one was going to help him though. He clenched his eyes shut, and by the sounds of things, the beams shut off.

The world was already getting darker because of his closed eyes, but his mind also started clouding. He slipped into comfortable unconsiousness just as the angry shouting started.

Scott woke up and his eyes flew open, nearly hitting the person who had been leaning over him, applying a cold compress to his forehead, "Whoa Slim! No need to take my head off! Close your eyes."

He did as Lorna told him, as he usually always did. She was usually always right. Even though he couldn't see her, he could sense her presence right in front of him, "How...many people..."

He couldn't finish, but Lorna knew him well enough, "No one was severly injured. You hit Kylie in the back, but she should be back to walking in a few days. You bruised her up pretty good. No one else. The orphange, however, is a little worse for the wear. You...seem to have caved in the whole right side."

Scott's heart sank, "No one was injured when it fell."

She shook her head, but he couldn't see, "No. Everyone made it out okay."

She was quiet for what felt like an hour, but was probably only a few moments of tension filled silence when she spoke again, "Scott...Sara doesn't blame you, but the other kids...Well, they're not going to be so nice. Not that they ever were, but with how much they disliked us before..."

His head shot up, "Us?"

"Did you think you were the only one?"

To tell the truth, he did. How many 13 year olds have bright red beams streaming from their eyes? "So you have this (he gestured to his eyes) too?"

"Not exactly. My hair is a more...visible part of it, but it can't do anything special. No, I can...move metal."

He huffed, "You get something cool."

She pushed on his chest making him lay back in what he felt was grass, and knew instantely he was in their meadow, "Oh yeah. This season's big fashion trend is bright green hair and lips. Won't people love it."

He laughed and soon she joined in, laying her head on his chest, and enjoying the closeness they shared. Their meadow was a secluded circular patch of grass with trees' leaves overhead blocking out the sun. In the spring and summer it was filled with flowers. The autumn brought crinkling leaves down, but left a colorful fort up in the trees for them to share. The winter left all of the trees bare. If they got high enough, they could see for miles, but no one could see them. The tree where they had met five years prior was still there, and one of the largest trees.

"Do you think I'll ever be able to open my eyes again?"

She sighed sadly, "I don't know Scott, but if I were you, I wouldn't get your hopes up. Has my hair ever changed?"

It hadn't. It was a constant. No matter how much they grew, her hair was the same. No matter how much time they spent in the sun each summer, her hair stayed the same even when Scott's was bleached. Even dyeing it didn't work half the time, "Well, I can't see it, but if you mean still green, curly, soft, and pretty, yeah, it's the same."

He could tell she was rolling her eyes. It's what she did whenever he gave her a compliment, "Shut up Scott. Green, yes. Curly, yes. Soft, maybe. Pretty, no way in Hell."

He ran a hand over her hair, causing an involuntary shiver down her spine, I don't know. It feels pretty soft to me."

He was rewarded with an elbow in the gut.

They found an old shirt in his closet that they cut into rags they could tie around his eyes. He had to learn braille and how to move without sight, but Lorna was right there to help him. Whenever he got angry or frustrated, she was patient. She was right in how the other kids treated him. They didn't want to be near him, and because of that and Lorna's insistence on being his friend, she was socially shunned as well.

Before they knew it, 8th grade was over.

After the last day of school, they were walking home in the afternoon with Scott using Lorna's arm and a long cane, laughing at some inside joke when they walked inside to a surprise.

"Scott! Lorna! Good! I need both of you in my office now!" Sara's cheery voice said with more excitement than usual.

Lorna was clearly looking at Scott for a decision when Scott shrugged and motioned for her to help him forward. She complied almost instantly. Some of the staff at the orphanage had begun to joke about how they (Lorna and Scott) were practically one body now. Where one was weak in some aspect, the other completed. When they walked in, they could hear the voices of unfamiliar adults. Lorna led Scott to a seat and then took one herself.

One of the adults was a bald male and in a wheelchair. Another was a black woman with bright white hair and the kindest blue eyes she had ever seen. The small child in her want to be loved by this obvious maternal figure. The last adult in the room was a gruff looking short man who Lorna wouldn't want to mess with. He looked like he would rather be anywhere but there at the moment, except for the obvious curiosity shining in his brown eyes.

The man in the wheelchair spoke first, "Hello Lorna and Scott. I am Charles Xavier. I am somewhat of an expert in the mutant field. You two, along with the three of us here, are mutants. I think you two already know what your mutations are. Lorna, you can manipulate metal. What if you could extend that magnetism into something greater? And you Scott. You let loose dangerous concussive beams of energy. What if you could learn to control it somehow and use it to help humanity?"

The idea clearly appealed to both of them. Seeing the light in Lorna's eyes (as Scott's were covered) Charles smiled, "We'd like to bring you both back to New York with us, and teach you to control your mutations."

"So what? How is this going to work?" Scott asked, trying to keep the bitterness out of his voice.

"I'm going to adopt you, Scott, and Lorna, well, you get to choose between these two. Don't worry, you have time. I've already completed the papers for you, Scott, and Lorna your's are almost done, just needing the name of who's going to be your "parent". We leave tonight. Go pack up your stuff. We'll start going now to get there by late tomorrow."


	5. Containment

**I know this story is going slow, but the action probably won't be for a while. I apologize for those who are hoping for some crime fighting action or something, but anyone who knows my stories knows that action is usually second to drama in my book.**

Lorna looked around at the estate before them and had to focus her hardest on keeping her jaw from dropping. It was breathtaking. The mansion was a massive expanse of gorgeous architecture shrouded in a delicate landscape of greenery and the type of land ornaments only rich people can have. A forest made up much of the property, but that wasn't saying much, since the property was _massive_, allowing there to be plenty of clear space as well.

"Lor," Scott whispered in her ear. "What's it like?"

She shook her head, "I...I can't describe it."

The way she said it gave all the explaination and more that he would need. Logan walked around and smiled crookedly at them, "Yeah, nice huh?"

Lorna looked away, not wanting to show she was intimidated by the man. Ororo walked around as well and motioned for them all to go inside. Looking up, Lorna saw the sky was grey like before a huge rain, and Scott could smell it in the air.

Professor Xavier wheeled in behind everyone. Lorna stuck to Scott's side like they were joined at the hip, scared to death of new places. This new "home" was so much bigger than she had first thought.

Charles smiled at Lorna, "No need to worry, child. We're not here to hurt you. If you and Scott will follow Ororo downstairs, we'll get started on helping you, starting with you, Scott."

Scott was now extremely nervous, and gripped Lorna's hand hard, like it was all that was keeping him alive. For all he knew, it was.

They descended the staircase that was almost exactly opposite of the stereotypical serial killer movie, but still held that atmosphere nonetheless. Lorna almost wished it _did_ have dim, flashing lights, cobwebs in the corners, and dust coating every inch of every surface possible. At least that reason of unease would be obvious.

They arrived at a huge door to a massive spherical room that had tons of different squares and rectangles scattered over the surface that Lorna was sure held things she wouldn't want to meet. Scott and Lorna hung back, letting the adults pass them. All three adults faced them, Logan looking bored, Ororo looking concerned, and Charles looking happy.

The smiling bald man told Scott, "Take off the blindfold and open your eyes at the ceiling."

Lorna felt Scott squeeze her hand even farther than it was, surprising her that it hadn't broken yet. She knew he wouldn't purposefully do anything to hurt her though.

"It's alright, son. Just make sure you look up first."

Lorna could tell Scott was waiting for her to answer, "It'll be okay, Scott. I trust them."

Scott nodded and let go of her hand, startled as he realized how strong his grip on it was, and untied the grimy blindfold. He looked up at the ceiling, waited a moment so they knew to prepare themselves, and opened his eyes.

Out of his eyes came a brilliant flash of crimson light, glowing like a neon light. They all heard a loud bang as the beam hit the ceiling. Scared he had blown apart the house, Scott slammed his eyes shut effectively stopping the ray. Unknown to the teen, he had impressed nearly everyone in the room. Everyone except Lorna. She was scared to death, rushing to his side as he fell to the ground, making sure he was okay.

Charles wheeled forward to park beside the fallen teen, who's eyes were clenched shut as if he was facing Medusa. He took something out of a compartment on his wheelchair and put it in the hands of the green haired young lady, "Put these on his face and get out of the way. I don't know how well they'll work."

She looked and saw a pair of sunglasses with dark red lenses. She didn't know how it could possibly work, but followed her orders besides. Lorna placed the shades on his face and moved to sit behind him, "Open your eyes, Scott. Please."

He wanted to protest with every fibre of his being, tell her that it wouldn't be okay like she had told him earlier, but he couldn't refuse her. He opened his eyes and...nothing happened. Everything felt...normal.

He looked around and saw Lorna with her mouth adorably dropped open, Ororo shocked with a hand to her mouth, Charles a mixture of happy and shocked, and Logan just looked grimly happy.

"So the kid has to wear these glasses for the rest of his life. That's not unusual for people anymore, but what about at night, or in battle, or at school. They could get knocked off. I don't know anyone who can effectively sleep with glasses on."

Charles held the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. It was clear that this kind of behavior wasn't new news for Logan, "I don't know yet. The ruby quartz seems to be containing it well. We'll have to monitor the glasses and see if anything negative happens. If it doesn't, I'm sure we can come up with some sort of goggle or visor or something."

Logan looked satisfied, and neither of the two students were willing to say anything. Ororo was shaking off her shock, "Wait! Where did these glasses come from?"

"I'm sure you remember Henry McCoy from when he was here," Ororo nodded. "When I told him about Scott and we did a little more research into the subject, we were able to develop something that theoretically could have contained it. Of course, we didn't know until we tried it out. Now we do."

When Charles looked back at the two children, he looked weary, tired, and much older than he first had. He addressed them with a sense of uncaring, though it was clear to everyone in the room he didn't really feel that way, "I think that's enough for today. Why don't you all just go to bed? We'll get everything figured out in the morning."

And so they did.

**What did you think? Boring, I know. Get ready for next chapter, which will bring in the start of their relationship.**


	6. Trust

"Wait a minute!" Rogue waved a hand back and forth. "So this Lorna gal was here before even Jean."

No one else answered so Scott nodded, taking full responsibility of the story telling, but before he could vocalize it, Kitty jumped in with her own priorities, "So, when did you guys start, you know, _dating_?"

Ororo laughed and turned it into a cough, causing Jean to shoot her a mock glare. Scott's glare wasn't mock, unlike his redheaded love interest's. He then turned his attention back to the bubbly brunette, "Trust me. It's coming."

And so the story continued...

* * *

><p>[Flashback]<p>

Lorna awoke the next morning and remembered that she wasn't in the orphanage anymore. She had been adopted...almost. This Xavier guy had left the choice of a potential "parent" up to her, but how could she choose when she knew nothing about them? She realized with a jolt that was his plan.

Playing off of that realization, she made her decision and got out of bed in order to get ready.

Down the hall from her, Scott was waking up for the first time in the new place, making sure he didn't open his eyes unlike most people did. It had taken much practice and patience, but with the help of Lorna, he had finally trained himself not to open his eyes.

He felt around for his new glasses, having remembered with pleasant surprise that he could now control them. Well, at least he could see without blowing a hole in the side of the building. That was something, right?

He then got out of his warm bed tentatively as if the...what had Charles called them? Ruby quartz? Yeah! As if those lenses would crack with the slightest show of force, the fact that it was already being continuously blasted with an extremely powerful one not withstanding.

As he left his new place of sleep he walked down the large staircase and down a large hallway, gawking at the amount of luxury clearly visible, and walked into the kitchen where a hushed conversation was ongoing between Ororo, Logan, and Charles. They all looked up as he entered the room.

After a brief moment of tension filled awkward silence, Ororo smiled at him and nodded to the rest of the long, empty table where steaming dishes were waiting for him. As he sat down, she nodded once more to indicate it was okay to just dig right in and he did just that.

Scott and Lorna had tried to avoid the other kids as much as possible at the orphanage after his...mutation had surfaced. This had meant missing meals and frequently feasting on ice-cold leftovers, if there were any. If not, they looked for fruit and nuts in the forest or went hungry. The latter was usually the case.

This food wasn't cold. This food wasn't the scraps left from after the mean kids got through picking over them. This food wasn't your generic, obviously bland tasting, quick cook, supposedly nutritious meal most crowded places served. It burst with flavor and was clearly loaded with all kinds of unhealthy crud that made him never want to stop eating. He was painfully aware that they were staring at him while trying not to make it obvious...which made it even more uncomfortable. He wished Lorna would come down soon and keep him company.

He focused on looking around. He almost hadn't wanted to go to sleep the night before as he hadn't seen in five years and couldn't get enough. Though everything was a shade of red, he learned how to distinguish colors rather quick, using his best friend's bright green locks as reference.

Speaking of his best friend, Lorna hadn't really changed all too much in five years. She had grown and gotten more...womanly (the thought made him blush), but she still looked very much like the spunky eight-year-old that had been his first real friend.

He was in the middle of taking another stack of pancakes off the pile when the person of interest walked in. As outgoing as she might be, Lorna still had a shy streak, which clearly showed as she immediately blushed at the three adults and bowed her head as she walked to sit beside Scott.

She gave him a wide smile, those green lips stretching across her face, and filled her own plate. Quickly a conversation was struck up between them, laughing about little jokes the eavesdropping adults couldn't have a hope in the world of understanding. As the teens carried on with their own things, the adults went back to conversing between them.

"They act like they've known each other since the beginning of time," Logan remarked, sitting back in his chair lazily.

Ororo huffed, "Considering the only friend Scott has known in his five years since the tragedy has been Lorna, I think we can assume the obvious and expect them to be rather close."

"This is more than just close, 'Ro. This is...it's almost..."

Charles nodded, "I know, Logan. We all do. I think it's safe to assume something will pop up eventually, but I think it's also safe to assume that from observing these children, they have an extreme amount of manners and morals. I don't think they would do anything potentially damaging, especially to one another."

The gruff man grunted in what sounded like grim agreement.

Lorna glanced at them, "Do they really think we don't know they're talking about us?"

"I can honestly say I have no clue. With a man who can just suddenly give me a product that shuts these babies off...I don't think we can really guess what they know and don't know," Scott sighed, cupping his chin in his right hand.

"I think I can safely guess that at least the woman knows how to cook," Lorna winked at him.

Scott laughed, "That's for sure. I know I haven't eaten that well since..."

He trailed off as his face grew sad and lost. Lorna knew what had happened immediately and responded by laying a hand on his shoulder and silently whispering in his ear, bringing him back to normal. He always grew lost when he thought of his mom and dad. His brother was usually safe territory. She guessed losing a brother, no matter how close you were, didn't seem as final and scary as losing both of your parents.

Logan sent the older two a look and then looked at the green haired girl, "Hey, kid! Have you decided yet?"

Without even looking back at him, she yelled back, "Yeah. You."

Logan was surprised, but true to form he didn't show it, only grunting and leaning back in his chair again. Charles wasn't. He had a feeling she would have chosen him. No matter how much she may have wanted a mother figure, she clearly had the type of personality that clicked more with the loner by choice.

The rest of the day was spent letting them get used to their new environments. It wasn't something the two men wanted to let happen, but Ororo was adament, not wanting them to be as skittish and scared as she had been in a new place. The two friends didn't mind much, enjoying every minute of not having to keep watch for the mean kids over their shoulders.

* * *

><p>"So the rest of you knew they would start dating?" Rogue asked. Clearly she was the more intellectual of the three newcomers to the story. "From what you've said so far, she doesn't seem like a bad girl and it didn't seem like a bad situation. What the hell did you do wrong?"<p>

"I made a mistake. A tragic, costly mistake that I would take back in a heartbeat," Scott groaned, shaking his head.

Jean tried to ignore the pang of hurt that coursed through her, "So, Logan, is that why you knew she was here?"

"Partially, yes," Logan nodded. "I was the only one left from the only place she called home whom she still trusted."

**I know, I know. It's been...a long time. This story is now my number one priority to finish (other than inspirational one-shots), so I should be getting them out a bit faster than I have been. Please leave a review telling me what you think of this latest update.**


	7. Awkward Silences

"What do you mean 'only person'?" Kitty asked, jumping in to the conversation suddenly. "Who else was here then?"

Scott looked up at her softly, "Myself, Logan, Ororo, Charles, and eventually Jean."

"And Logan was the only one she still trusted? How? The five of you are in my top 10 list of people I trust. It doesn't make any sense!" Kitty put her head in her hands and shook them back and forth in confused frustration.

Logan laughed, "Yes, it does. You don't know the whole story quite yet."

"Before you start the story, is it possible to tell us why?" Kurt asked.

Scott rolled his eyes, "Well, that _is_ kind of the point of having the story told, but whatever."

"You don't even have to tell the story if you don't want to. Just tell us why she doesn't trust you...all of you...except Logan..." Kurt said.

Ororo shook her head, "It would still be good for all of you to hear the story, but if you want to hear the trust part first, I don't see why we can't tell you."

The three nodded and Scott sighed, "Fine. Obviously, we've stated multiple times that she still trusts Logan. She trusts him because he was quite the father figure to her : keeping his promises and keeping her safe."

"And the rest of you didn't?" Kitty asked.

Jean shot her a warning look that made the younger girl wince, but Scott still spoke, "For the most part, no. She doesn't trust the Professor anymore because she has a deep aversion to telepaths, especially when said telepath has a soft spot for Jean Grey. It's the same reason she doesn't trust Storm. Storm looked a Jean like the daughter she could never have and, even though she tried not to be, was extremely biased when things about Jean came into play...everyone seemed to be."

Rogue looked shocked and then smirked a bit, "So this girl doesn't like the redheaded princess?"

"No. In fact, she hated Jean. Some of it was jealousy, but most of it was justified," Scott slammed his forehead on the table and groaned. "Jean was a complete goody-goody in the eyes of everyone, still is to a certain extent, but not nearly as bad as she _had_ been. Lorna hated that. She also hated that everyone seemed to love Jean, not to mention there was just something that didn't...click between them."

Logan snorted, "You could say that."

Scott glared at him, but before he could say anything, Rogue butted in, "Why does she hate _you_?"

Everyone who had known Scott and Lorna froze, waiting for his answer, but all he did was look in her eyes and say, "I broke her heart."

* * *

><p>[flashback]<p>

It had been three months since Scott and Lorna had come to New York. They were working harder than ever and didn't mind in the slightest. Not only did they have their school work, but they also had daily Danger Room sessions and other sessions the adults would set up for them. If the two friends had thought they were close at the orphanage, they had grown even closer going to Bayville High.

There was still exclusion, but it was mainly directed at Lorna now instead of Scott. People just thought the weird tint to his glasses, known as a treatment for a rare eye disease to the rest of the students and staff, was a little odd, but Lorna coming in with her green pigments was a scene the high school wasn't ready for. Most of the students thought it was some sort of punk-ish rebellion against society, but she was excluded for it nonetheless.

Also, these kids were _mean_. Sure, back in Nebraska it could be difficult, but most of the time Scott and Lorna were ignored. In Bayville, bullying wasn't an oddity and Lorna found herself at the brunt of it. Even though it wasn't visible yet, it began to make herself cold and mean. Still, despite the bullying, Scott stuck beside her, not wanting to lose his first real friend, who had begun to be seen as something more by him. He vocalized this thought after a particularly tiring session at the Institute.

"What are we?"

Lorna ran a sweat rag across her forehead as they headed for the locker room areas, "Orphans? Mutants? Students? Freshmen? Freaks? Completely awesome people? Do you want me to continue?"

He laughed, "Not exactly what I meant. I meant, what would you classify our relationship as?"

This made her pause, "I'm not exactly sure. It feels more than just friends, but it's not, like, sibling close."

"I thought the same...Lorna...would you ever consider...nevermind. It's stupid," he turned to push open the door to the boy's locker room.

He felt a hand on his shoulder, "Scott, nothing you say could ever be stupid."

Scott shot her a cheeky grin, "Wanna bet?"

"Shut up!" she lightly punched his arm with a laugh. "Seriously though. What's up?"

He froze, "I-uh...um, I was just...wondering if...you might be interested in...maybe kind of like to...go out...with me?"

Her green eyes widened, but quickly softened with a smile, "I would love to."

"Really?"

"Really."

They both smiled and then parted way to take their showers with a new found peace. Unknown to them, the resident bald-headed telepath had been listening in to their conversation. The older man wasn't sure exactly how he felt about it, but if he was going to start a lifetime of teaching a school of teenage mutants, he would have to get used to the idea that most of them would want to date at some point.

After his shower, Scott waited outside of Lorna's locker room and when she came out, he asked her if she would care to go to dinner with him that night. She readily agreed and they left for their usual spot at a quaint little restaurant meets diner type of place called Jr's.

When they walked in, they were met by the smiling face of Renee, the 'r' in Jr's, "Hey, you two. Usual seat?"

"Please," Scott replied.

The place was small, there only being about seven booths in the entire place, no tables, and barstools along the counter. It looked like a diner, but felt like a restaurant. It was heaven for the two of them.

Renee got out her notepad, "Drinks the usual? Same with dinner?"

Lorna nodded sheepishly, "I think we come here too much now."

"Nonsense!" the beautiful French woman exclaimed. "You two are just favorites."

The teens exchanged a look, "How so?"

"You have got to be the only teenagers in the entire city of Bayville that don't make me want to pull my hair out in frustration at the lack of manners. It's a nice change of pace, besides the fact that we hardly ever have teens in here anymore. Our customers are usually repeat and it's nice. Like seeing family," she explained, while writing down their usual order.

Lorna gave an angry sort of huff, "It's awful how mean people are anymore. This place is amazing!"

"Don't I know it," Renee winked from her place on the other side of the counter. "Hey Jack! Order attached!"

Jack was the 'J' in Jr's and Renee's husband. Jack played chef while Renee played waitress. Since their place was hardly ever busy, they never needed anymore staff. Lorna and Scott sat in awkward silence, waiting for their food before Lorna slammed her forehead onto the table, "This is ridiculous!"

"What is?"

Lorna looked up at him and giggled, "This awkwardness. We're best friends. We've gone out to eat together how many times? Why is it so much different now?"

Scott thought about it, "Because the intentions are different."

"And what exactly _are_ you're intentions?" she asked, batting her green eyelashes at him.

Needless to say, the rest of their night never had another awkward silence...until Scott kissed her goodnight outside of her bedroom door. That was just a bit weird.

**This section of flashback is being split into two parts (obviously) because I'm too lazy to wait to type the rest into this one document. Please review!**


	8. Progression and Explosion

**I'm not even going to bother apologizing at this point. Updates will come when they do and I'm not promising anything. All of my X-men stories have been...lacking in content for a long time and I'm struggling to get them back up. 'Nuff said.**

**There may be some mild Jean bashing, but I promise I have nothing against the character, as she happens to be my favorite Woman of X. It just goes with the story.**

[continued flashback]

Scott and Lorna's relationship progressed into an easy, steady romance. It had calmed down Lorna's growing cold side, but not much. One of the worst offenders was a teenage boy in the same grade as them named Duncan Matthews. He was one of the few that not only picked on Lorna, but tormented Scott as well.

They arrived back at the Institute after a particularly difficult day at school, and Charles, Ororo, and Logan were waiting for them, "Good afternoon."

"Hi," Lorna said as Scott looked around confused.

Charles sighed, "The reason we're all gathered here is we have a new student coming and she should be here any minute. Her name is Jean Grey and is your age as well."

"What are her powers?" Scott asked.

"Telekinesis and telepathy."

Scott felt Lorna stiffen by his side and remembered her dislike for telepaths. He only wondered what she would be thinking with an uncontrollable one on the way, "Would you like us to wait here and meet her?"

Charles smiled at the boy, "I was hoping for it."

"We'll wait by the stairs," Lorna announced with a smile, though she was mostly ignored.

So Lorna pulled out her algebra homework and began working on it on the staircase as Scott watched the open doors anxiously. After ten minutes of tension filled waiting, a car, which looked nearly brand new, pulled up the driveway. When it stopped, a man with graying hair and a woman who looked like she spent hours every day working to keep her slim figure got out of the car. A moment later, their passenger also exited the vehicle.

The only other person there was a girl who did indeed look to be about their age. She was stunningly beautiful, her hair flowing to her mid back and a startling red color. Lorna wondered whether it was natural, but given that her hair was naturally bright green, she cast it out of her mind.

As the girl got closer, Lorna found herself becoming more and more self-conscious. While she had never thought herself fat, she wasn't nearly as slim as Jean. Jean was petite, with almost no curve and tiny proportions, while Lorna was rather curvy and wasn't lacking as much as Jean in certain aspects. It made her feel ugly and undesirable, especially since Scott couldn't seem to look away.

She was also clearly shy, as she was practically hiding behind her mother as they walked toward the Professor, who grinned at the father, "Hello John."

"Hello Charles," John sighed as he ran his hand through his hair. "She packed a suitcase and the rest of the things she wanted to bring should be here in two days."

"That sounds fantastic. How are you Jean? You seem better than when I last saw you," Charles smiled at her.

She blushed, "I'm fine. I still hear them loudly, but not as bad."

"Are you ready for this, Jean? You know you can always stay at home," her mother coaxed.

Jean nodded, "Yeah, I think I'll be fine."

Her mother grabbed her in a large hug, which Lorna had to look away from. She had wished for years for a mother's love and had never gotten anything. Scott grabbed her hand and squeezed, shooting her a smile which she couldn't help but return.

"Ms. Munroe will show you to your room if you want."

Jean nodded and grabbed her suitcase and began to follow the older woman toward the stairs when she dropped her heavy bag and the zipper split open, spilling her contents. Lorna rushed forward to help pick it all up. She had just grabbed a pink sweater when it was snatched out of her hands and she was hit with an invisible force in the chest that threw her into the far wall.

"NO! IT'S MY SHIRT!" Jean screamed, holding her hand out at Lorna.

John Grey came forward and put his hand on Jean's shoulder, "She's just trying to help. She wasn't trying to steal your things."

"How do you know, Daddy?" Jean glared at the other girl. "Look at her!"

"I did. She was just trying to help, cupcake. Now grab your things and follow Ms. Munroe."

Jean nodded, shoved her things into her ruined bag, and ran up the stairs. Lorna fell to the floor with a thud and her eyes filled with tears, a sob catching in her throat, "I...I just...wanted..."

Logan came forward and help Lorna to her feet, "I know. Go into the kitchen. I'll be there in a minute. Scott, why don't you go with her?"

Scott shook off his daze and followed his crying girlfriend into the kitchen.

[end flashback]

* * *

><p>"What the hell did you do that for?" Rogue exclaimed at Jean. "Now I know why she hated you! She was being nice!"<p>

Jean blushed, "You don't know the whole story yet!"

Rogue glared, "No, I know that this girl, who clearly didn't like you from the beginning, put that aside to try and help you, and you yelled at her! You attacked her! Why isn't she here anymore?"

Jean glared back, "Because she attacked me."

Scott held up his hand before Rogue could scream anymore, "You can't defend her, Rogue. You weren't there."

"But I was," Logan grunted. "Rogue, I know why you're upset, and I can't say that I don't mostly agree with you, but Jean apologized for what she did later that day in front of us all."

"Did she act like she was sorry afterwards? Experience tells me not," Rogue rolled her eyes.

"Why don't you listen to the rest before you make anymore false judgements?" Jean growled.

* * *

><p>[flashback]<p>

After Jean's apology at dinner, which Lorna promised to forgive, the teens continued in their ways. It became apparent after a while that Jean was very cautious around Lorna, though she had no such reservations when it came to Scott. That small revelation took all of the work Scott had done with Lorna's self-esteem and shot it down the drain, as well as making her cold again.

Lorna walked to her locker and jumbled in her combination she knew more by movement than by number. When her door opened, it was slammed shut with such a force her hair blew in the resulting wind, "Hello freak."

She squeezed her eyes shut, "Hi Duncan."

"Where's your guardian?" he smirked, leaning against the locker next to hers.

"Coming."

He laughed, a sound that chilled her bones, "Oh, I wonder how long you've been lying to me. That's precious."

She stiffened, "I've done many things to you in my mind, but never in real life have I ever lied to you."

"Are you and Scott still together then?"

She slammed her fist into the locker, "Can you just leave me alone?"

He backed off, laughing. She knew exactly what he was asking. Duncan had had his eyes on Jean ever since she had arrived at Bayville, and Scott and Jean had been spending an awkward amount of time together. The rest of the time, Lorna was left behind.

She stomped her way out into the parking lot where Scott would be waiting to walk home with her and Jean, but when she saw Jean pull Scott down for a quick kiss, she could have sworn her heart stopped beating. Before her mind could register what was happening, her legs were running her away from the scene. She vaguely heard her name being called, but was too focused on getting away to worry about it.

Her lower half burned as she ran back to the Institute, but when she got to the gates outside, she held out her arm and blasted them away from her. She felt a weird pull inside of her body as she sprinted up the drive, making her thoughts sporadic and unfocused.

"What's happened?" she heard Ororo shout after her.

She never stopped.

She grabbed a bag out from under her bed and began throwing her few possessions into it, vaguely wondering how long it would take precious Jean to do the same thing. Red hot anger flashed through her muscles, sparking electric shocks of agony in their wake. Lorna swung the bag around her body as she ran back out and down the stairs.

She felt someone grab her and lift her from the ground. She screamed, "Let go of me!"

"No, kid," she heard Logan whisper in her ear, though it didn't register right.

Her mind felt like it was supercharged and it was scaring her. In panic, she screamed again and a magnetic force let loose from her body, propelling Logan away from her and, if the sound of impact was any indication, into a wall. She looked at her hands which were turning green and gasped.

"Lorna!"

Scott and Jean were running toward her, both looking severely afraid. However, her attention wasn't focused on her best friend. It was focused on his favored redheaded companion.

"You! You did this!" something inside of her, something that had been clawing at her insides and trying to get out, unleashed from it's cage and set loose, all the force directed at one person. Jean Grey.

Her vision began to blacken with the weakening of her powers, as she had never used them like this. She had heard that when electricity does the same thing it's called a surge, so did that make this a power surge?

Suddenly, she collapsed onto the pavement, holding herself as if she was trying to stay together. Charles whispered her name, "Lorna?"

They all looked horrified, and she could understand why, but most were now looking at her with a hate she hadn't even seen in the Bayville kids. They rivaled even the orphanage, all but Logan. He looked at her with a sort of understanding.

Jean was crumpled onto the ground, and it seemed she was barely breathing. Ororo was by her side, as was Scott. Lorna had never truly given much thought to how much their opinion of her had mattered, but in that moment, she knew that she meant less than nothing to them now.

She picked up her bag on shaking legs and ran for a couple of days before she collapsed out of pure exhaustion.

She never stopped.

[end flashback]

* * *

><p>"That's why you hate her?" Rogue exclaimed. "Because her powers expanded!"<p>

"You don't know that's what happened," Jean growled.

Rogue rolled her eyes, "You did the exact same thing to all of us. In fact, you nearly killed us all! How are you any different?"

"Because she flat out attacked me! I had no defense!" Jean shouted back.

"How do you know she had any control over her powers? They could have been influenced by her emotions!"

Before Jean could respond, the Professor cut in, "It's a good point, Jean. It would explain much of what happened while she was here."

Ororo waved her hand in dismissal, "Regardless of the reasons why it happened, I think enough time has passed for us all to forgive and forget, you included Jean. You have a dark side just like her. You're more alike than you are different. Remember that before you speak."

Jean crossed her arms in a huff, "That still doesn't explain why she would be here."

"Maybe she needs help," Logan suggested. "There are people in this universe other than you, princess, that need an occasional hand."

"Why wouldn't she just come forward?" Hank asked. "Unless you know something we don't."

Logan glared, "Sometimes I regret having told you the story of Lorna before today."

"But you did and my question still stands. Is there something you know that we don't regarding her?" Hank asked, crossing his fuzzy, blue arms.

Logan snorted, "Plenty, but I think it would be best if she explained it to you."

Scott's brows furrowed, "How? It's not like we..._you know where she is?!_"

"I know where she is."

**Now that the flashbacks explaining the newest magnetokinetic to our story, please leave me a review telling me what you think is to come, or what you would like to see come?**


	9. Alter Locus

Logan walked down the darkening sidewalk on the "bad side" of Bayville. Much like any growing city, the city of Bayville also had what media liked to call a ghetto. It wasn't quite as bad as the media portrays it, but it was filled with enough winos and drug dealers to hold the same effect.

Behind him, he knew trailed the rest of the group from that room. Deep in his gut he felt a surge of guilt for revealing her like this, after he'd sworn to her to keep her secret, but he knew this was for the best. She needed help, even if she didn't want to ask.

The street down which they walked was lined on the right side with dirty bars, scummy nightclubs, and empty warehouses that made for affective whorehouses. All but one of these buildings, that is. On the left were more street lamps, broken benches, and an overgrown and poor attempt at a park.

Logan turned to face the building he knew all too well and took a deep breath before really looking. It was a brick store he had seen a million times before, but had never truly _seen._

He grabbed the doorknob with a determination that clearly showed the group behind him that no matter what happened, it was his lead. He opened the door and walked in, immediately engulfed in a bad pop/country crossover hit and the smell of a home cooked dinner.

The group stood in a narrow hallway, Scott and Jean could barely comfortably stand side-by-side, as Logan addressed them, "This is _Alter Locus_."

"Second chance," Hank mumbled. "That's Latin for second chance."

Logan nodded, "With good reason. I'll explain the rest in a moment."

They followed Logan as he led them curiously to a back room that looked very similar to a typical restaurant party room. They all sat down at a long table that was in the middle of the room. Logan folded his hands on the table and took a deep breath.

"What exactly is this place?" Ororo tentatively asked when Logan stayed silent.

"It's exactly what the name states. A second chance. At least, a second chance for those of us who aren't exactly all that we seem," Logan explained vaguely.

Kitty sighed sadly, "Mutants."

Logan nodded, "Yep. This place has been giving employment to secluded mutants for a long time. The only business this place really receives is from the mutant community. It's a safe house of sorts."

"No regular humans at all?" Kurt asked, shocked.

Logan shook his head this time, "Nah, the occasional mutant supporter will wander through, but there has never been a case of an anti-mutant supporter coming in. I'm not sure they'd want to considering how much they generally fear us, and walking into a wired group of them wouldn't exactly be the ideal option, now would it?"

"That depends on the person," Scott pointed out.

"An acute observation," a new voice added to the conversation.

All eyes turned to look at a beautiful young woman with blonde hair and an astonishly bright attire. She smiled at them knowingly and spoke in a way that helped to emphasize her light voice, "I see you've already told them about my restaurant."

"I didn't expect you to show up, Bets," Logan rolled his eyes playfully.

She laughed lightly and then turned to the group, "My name is Alison Blaire. I, like all of you, am a mutant. I set up this restaurant for people like myself. Logan here is a regular."

He laughed, "Is there anyone who comes here anymore who isn't a regular?"

"We get the occasional stray and group, like this one. It all depends on the way the fates play our hand. Would you all like anything before we begin talking about the real reason I know you're here?" she winked.

They shook their heads, deciding that dinner could wait for the moment, but she still made them order dinner. She proved to be a persistent force of friendly nature that they, for the most part, couldn't help but like.

"So Lorna works here?" Rogue asked Alison.

Alison's smile faltered, "Lorna Dane? Yes, I figured that's why you showed up."

"Where is she?" Scott asked.

Alison sat down, "While we're waiting for your dinner, I guess there's some more explaining to be done."

Logan was glad that for once he wasn't the one telling the story, but he couldn't help but watch as he too was pulled into the story. After all, not even he knew all the details.

"It all starts just eight days after the incident involving her powers at the Institute..."

* * *

><p><em>Flashback :<em>

Lorna stumbled along the sidewalks of the streets of the city she had wanted to avoid. She knew she had to come back, however. She wasn't nearly ready so see them again, but what other choice did she have? She'd never had a choice of her own. She never would.

"Hello?"

The voice spoke out to her, making her squeal loudly in fright. She was ready to collapse once again from exhaustion, dehydration, and malnutrition, but she really didn't feel like dying in the middle of Bayville so she looked to where the sound had come from.

Standing with a door open in a building she would never have suspected to hold anything worth something was a woman who couldn't be more than five years her senior. This young woman was blonde with concerned blue eyes, "Are you hurt?"

She collapsed in response.

* * *

><p><em>Flashback continued : <em>

"Wake up! Hello? Are you alive?"

Lorna swatted at whatever hand was poking her in the sides. The hand poked harder and Lorna bolted upright in the bed she was laying in, "Where am I?"

The same young woman as before smiled, "You're in my bed. I brought you here after you collapsed practically at my feet."

"Why?"

"You need help."

Lorna scoffed, "And you think you can provide it?"

"As a matter of fact," the woman stood and offered Lorna a hand which she took. "I do."

"How?"

"Let me show you."

The woman introduced herself as Alison Blaire. Her stage name was Dazzler until she lost her job after her mutant powers manifested themselves unconsciously during a particularly grueling show and nearly blinded the entire audience. She had sought refuge and made the restaurant known as _Alter Locus._

She already had a staff of two, excluding herself. She had hired a chef named Theresa and one waitress named Neena. She hired Lorna on as a second waitress. The restaurant quickly boomed with popularity and filled often beyond capacity. They expanded into the next building and hired a much larger staff.

It was a nice, quiet life for her that she quickly got into a comfortable routine around. That is, until Logan walked in.

She had been sitting at a table near the hostess podium, putting forks, spoons, and knives into napkins when he walked in. He knew she was there before she could even look up, "Lorna?"

Her head shot up so quickly she felt like she'd given herself whiplash, "Logan?"

"What are you doin' here, Kid?" he asked her, leaning against the wall.

"Working."

"Do you like it here?"

She nodded. He sighed and walked to a table in the back. He would come in twice a week, sometimes more frequently, just to chat with her. They never talked about the Institute or anyone else living there. It was comfortable.

For the first time in her life, she was truly content.

_End flashback : _

* * *

><p>Ororo shook her head, "Why didn't she just come back?"<p>

Logan glared at the weather witch, "She felt guilty and ashamed. She didn't want to come back because she felt that none of you would ever forgive her, and I guess she was well within reason considering some of you, most of you, haven't even thought about her since that day, resulting in unresolved feelings of hate."

Jean rolled her eyes, "She tried to kill me, Logan. I think I'm allowed a little hate."

"Do you have any idea what her powers are like? Do you really have any idea what her life was like before the Institute?" Kurt asked them all.

Logan smiled grimly with Alison, "We do."

"We don't," Rogue countered. "And since neither one of you is going to tell us, how can we know if she's one to trust?"

Charles sighed, "Not only that, but how can we know if she's worth using the resources on? If she's just going to fight back, it might not be worth it. How can we know for sure?"

"You _could_ always ask me."

**Ooo. Confrontation next. Not many chapters left in this story, and not much, if any, action. If that's what you were hoping for, you're going to be sadly disappointed. It's just going to be pointless drama.**

**Please send me a preferably nice review (not a flame, please) telling me what you think of the latest developments.**


	10. Forgiven?

There, in front of everyone who had been told stories of her for the past eight hours, stood the subject of passing judgement.

Lorna Dane.

Her curly green hair was just as wild as it had been when she and Scott were children in the orphanage. Her eyes were a few shades darker of green than that of her lips, which were turned down in an irritated scowl. Her frame was just as curvy as it had been as a teenager, but it was less awkward now that she had grown into her body. She had grown into a beautiful young woman, now able to match the women who had made her so envious before.

Logan actually managed to look a bit guilty, "Sorry, Kid. It was worried about 'cha."

Her gaze softened as it focused on the scruffy man, like a daughter to a father, "Ah, don't worry about it any. They were bound to find me eventually. I'm just curious as to why they feel the need to come looking for me after all this time."

"We are actually looking for the source of some extreme magnetic anomalies in this area," Hank began. "We are pretty certain that Magneto, you do know of Magneto, yes? We're certain that he's in South America at this time. You are apparently the only other magnetokinetic in the area, so..."

Lorna actually looked a bit sheepish as she turned her green eyes to her boss, "You can go, Ali. I'll take it from here."

The older woman nodded and made her exit. Lorna sighed as she met the floor with her stare, "I think...my powers are trying to expand again. It's starting to freak me out, but I couldn't exactly stop to focus on it too much with all of the hours I've been putting in lately and stress. I thought it might have just stemmed from that as well."

"It could be a combination of both, but I think we'd much prefer a chance to get you back to the Institute if you so wish to check it out for ourselves and see the full extent," Charles pushed.

"You all need to eat your dinner first and I need to finish my shift, but I guess going to the Institute for some tests couldn't hurt too bad, right? Just as long as there are no needles," she winked.

The older man chuckled, but Scott looked at his ex-best friend with complete sadness, "Lorna, I'm-"

She held up a hand which was adorned with bright green fingernails, no doubt natural, "Don't Scott. I...I don't think I could bear it."

The young woman practically ran out of the room. leaving Scott wondering why it felt as if his heart had just been smashed.

[BREAK]

She walked into the back room where some bus boy with armoured plates covering most of his body was doing dishes while she blinked back her betraying tears. Oh, how she thought she was more prepared than this. She couldn't have been more wrong if she would have said that her hair was purple and her favorite tune was the song 'Puff the Magic Dragon'. She gripped the edge of an empty sink in an iron grip.

"You alright?" the familiar voice of her new best friend asked.

She smiled at Alison, "Yeah, I'm alright."

"Liar."

"What do you want me to say? That I never got over him and now that he's here it hurts more than when I left him the first time?" she groaned.

Alison shrugged, "That's a start, but I actually just wanted to know why you're reacting so strongly."

"I never got over him, I guess. I thought I did, but I was wrong. He wasn't just my...boyfriend. He was my best friend, my partner, and my equal. He knew me better than I knew myself at times, but at others I was shocked he even remembered that I existed," Lorna sighed melodramatically.

"Like when Jean came into it."

Lorna nodded, "When Jean came into the picture, it changed everything. No matter how much of a best friend he was to me and no matter how much I clearly loved him, it was never enough to satisfy his desire for the beautiful redhead."

"His loss," Alison sniffed. "You can do so much better than that loser anyway."

"But I don't want to do better," she whispered. "I want him, more than I'll ever be willing to admit to his face."

After a long pause of an obviously awkward silence, Lorna looked up and saw Alison staring at-Oh God!

Scott smiled at her sheepishly, "I think you just did, Lor."

Alison stood with the grace of a skilled dancer, "I think I'll take my leave now. You two...play nice and remember that this equipment is expensive."

Scott took Alison's recently vacated seat on top of an old paint can while Lorna sank to the floor in embarrassed shame, "What now?"

She glared at him, "Nothing now. Now you go back to your lavish lifestyle with your gorgeous princess girlfriend and I live my life here."

"Lorna...I'm truly sorry for the way I treated you," he sighed as he ran his hand adorably through his brown hair. "You have no idea how sorry I am, but it's a little difficult to put into words. I missed you more when you ran away more than I missed my brother, mother, and father combined. You had become my family, and when you left...well, it was worse than losing them all over again, because I lost you with them."

Lorna shook her head, causing her long curls to bounce, "No. I won't let you apologize. Get out."

"Why?"

"Because why? What are you afraid of?"

She stiffened, "I never said I was afraid."

"Then why won't you let me apologize."

"Because you don't even deserve THAT! After everything you did to me? After everything you didn't do or say? You deserve less than nothing!"

Scott hung his head in disappointment in himself, "I know. I can't tell you how many times I'm sorry."

"Then don't. Just leave."

"No. I'm not letting you leave me again."

She rolled her eyes, "I don't think you really have a say in the matter, Summers."

"Yes, I do."

"How?"

He stood and picked her up, wrapping her in his arms before sitting back down while holding her. She snorted, but it was half hearted and she spoke sarcastically, "It's going to be so hard for me to get up and walk."

"That's the idea."

"You're an idiot."

"I'm your idiot."

"You're Jean's idiot."

"No, I'm Jean's mancandy. I'm your idiot."

She held her nose in the air proudly, "And you better remember it."

"Lorna?"

"What?"

"You're my idiot."

She stood up out of his arms and walked to the other side of the room, "Oh, that's real nice. You come in here trying to make amends and you call me an idiot."

He laughed, "You did the same to me."

"I'm not trying to say I'm sorry."

Neither noticed that she had somehow walked her way back over into his open arms where he was standing, "Will you forgive me?"

"You're still an idiot."

"Will you forgive me?"

"I'm still mad at you."

"Will you forgive me?"

Lorna rolled her eyes, "Alright, alright. Yes, I forgive you."

Scott gave a childish whoop of joy and picked her up just to spin her around in circles. She laughed hysterically as memories of their better days flashed before their eyes. When he stopped spinning her, he held her close to his body. Her face was flushed red from laughing, her bright smile still etched into her face.

He brushed a stray curl off of her cheek and stroked the spot where it had been. He looked deeply into her green depths and breathed, "Lorna."

She reached her lips up toward his lowering ones, "Scott."

Before they could touch, they were both hit by a familiar invisible force, this time enhanced with an unfamiliar and terrifying heat.

**Okay, this idea popped into my head at the last minute and it's going to mean that I lied to you all about there not being any action, but the end of the story should still be coming up pretty soon, within five chapters or less. Don't set it in stone yet, though.**

**For some reason I've just been able to pop these chapters out like tic-tacs into a mouth. Amazing what two-thirty in the morning can do for you, eh? Please review!**


	11. Fight, Fight, Fight!

"Is it not enough that's he's never thought of me completely as he thought of you, but now you have to ruin what relationship we did have too?" Jean screamed at them, as she used her telekinesis to push them back.

She stood there, glowing with the fire provided by the growing Phoenix behind her. As Charles had discovered, Phoenix was a piece of Jean's power that had separated itself from her conscious mind when she was catatonic for three years of her childhood. Now it was coming back in full force, and all directed at one person.

_Kind of ironic._ Lorna thought. _That I should die like this after having done nearly the same thing to her before._

"Jean! Jean, stop it!" Scott screamed, standing up. "Nothing happened!"

Her blazing eyes turned toward him, "But it was going to, wasn't it?"

"I didn't mean to, Jeannie. I just got caught up in the moment," he replied foolishly.

She laughed harshly, "That seems to happen a lot with you, doesn't it?"

He didn't even bother answering as she began floating higher and higher, meanwhile destroying the building. He could now see the rest of his team and Alison, even though they were across the building. Lorna looked on with terrified eyes, at someone she had chosen to forgive who hadn't done the same for her.

"You! None of you are allowed to help!" Jean shouted as she waved her hand the rest of the X-men were thrown out of the building, crashing through the barely withstanding wall. She unconsciously held them there, not wanting their interference with her fight.

"Jean, please stop!" Scott begged. "You don't want to do this. We're your friends."

"NO!" she screamed, holding her head as more power burst through. "I HAVE NO FRIENDS!"

A long, metal support flew at Jean's face, but she blocked it easily with her new powers. Lorna had stood up beside her ex-boyfriend with her hands raised, trying to fight someone off with hopeless powers.

Jean laughed, menace dripping from her words, "This is what you try? You try to fight me with a lesser version of me? Pathetic!"

Suddenly a whirlwind surrounded Scott and Lorna, taking their breaths away while lifting them slowly away from where they were, as if caught in a tornado. When they landed, Pietro Maximoff, better known as Quicksilver, was standing in front of them, "Don't touch my sister!"

"Sister?" Jean and Scott echoed.

Pietro held out a hand for Lorna to take and she stood. As she did, he used it as an opportunity to whisper in her ear, "Wanda's on her way. Don't worry. We'll stop this bitch."

Lorna smiled, but it was more of a sad grimace. She didn't want anyone to get hurt, but it looked like a very real possibility.

"What can you do?" Jean sighed offhandedly. "Run at me?"

She waved her hand again and effortlessly threw him near the other X-men, who were desperately trying to fight back against the bonds Jean had them in. Their powers were also of no help. She then turned to the pair she was so intent on causing pain to and pushed them far apart.

She thought for a moment and then smiled. Scott noted how it was the same smile you would expect on a predator just before it strikes the prey, "Oh, Lorna, how would you like to be the first to die? That way, Scott can watch and you can go to Hell, or wherever it is you'll go after death. Maybe they have a special place for people who don't even deserve Hell?"

_Oh Scott! I'm sorry! I should have just left when I had the chance. Then this would never have happened to you. _She squeezed her eyes shut and prayed for it to be quick.

"Leave my little sister alone!"

She heard the comforting sound of her older sister's voice and looked to where she was. She had matured from the punkish goth she had been into a regular looking woman. It was a decent switch. Wanda raised her hand at Jean and focused with all of her might, hoping this would work.

Jean felt her powers begin to dim. That's not what she wanted! With an enraged shriek, she fought back against the inevitable with all of her might, though it was no use. Wanda was much more experienced with control other people's strengths with her luck. Lorna too focused her energy into a large magnetic pulse and fired it at the continually weakening Jean.

The redhead began screaming in agony as Lorna's acute control of the magnetic structure of both her and the surrounding area made for a powerful weapon, particularly when combined with that of her sister. She collapsed, giving up all power, as a river of tears made their way down her dying face.

Scott ran to Jean's side, holding her fragile frame in his arms, his eyes searching desperately at the faces of his friends for a solution. No one offered one.

With a cry of despair and disbelief, he cradled her broken body even closer to his own and he finally looked into the oddly relieved eyes of his girlfriend. She smiled at him, a smile he had only seen on two other occasions, both too sacred to be voiced, and said in what could barely pass as a whisper, "It's okay. I know. I understand."

"I'm sorry," he cried into her hair, his tears dampening the rare strands.

"I know," she gave a pitiful attempt at a laugh and with her dying breath said. "I had my own reasons."

Her normally strong body fell limp in his muscular arms and nothing could have stopped the cry of furious sorrow from tearing itself from somewhere hidden inside of him. Scott screamed into the night air, not caring that he was surrounded by friends, not caring that he was sitting in the middle of a pile of rubble, not caring that he was even alive. He hadn't just failed Jean.

He'd failed everyone.

Many of the X-men openly cried in front of each other. One of their own had just gone insane and after trying to hurt them all, had been killed by two people who had chosen to never belong. Did that make them the enemy, or an innocent bystander trying to help?

That was a question no one could answer at the moment, and if they were to be honest, none of them would admit to wanting to.

Lorna stared with awkwardly dry eyes at someone she'd frequently thought of as an enemy, at least where her love life had been concerned, and felt herself opening a part of her mind she had been struggling with for many years.

The sadness, anger, despair, desperation, pain, and more negative emotions of the events flowed into her, making her physically grow into a giant. It wasn't something she could always shut off, but she tried. Tonight, she wasn't even going to try.

She was in enough pain as it were.

**I would continue, but I think my brain is dead. I've been awake for almost twenty-four hours after getting nearly no sleep the night before and having my mother admitted to the hospital, scaring me to death. Writing has helped, but I know it's not very good. Let me know what you think of Jeannie being dead (and before anyone asks, no. She's no coming back).**


	12. The Funeral

**I apologize that the last chapter sucked, but the reason the story seems to have gotten really different is I waited so long to update that I forgot everything I had originally planned to do. *sighs* You can't win them all. I'm sorry!**

Jean's funeral was a sadly beautiful occasion.

It was held at the Institute, where her family was granting a request from their deceased daughter. Jean had wanted to be buried on the grounds, so she was being laid to rest in the flowery garden.

Tears were a common sight even before the funeral began. Everyone was clad in black. Scott shuffled his feet across the floor as he walked down the hall. He'd never felt such a large weight on his shoulders before. Not only was Jean's death directly his fault, but Lorna running away was too.

After he'd collapsed onto the pavement, holding Jean's corpse and sobbing, she'd run off with her half-brother and sister. She'd never said anything to him or anyone around him, but she was gone. That stung.

Scott awkwardly slumped down the stairs, where a nearly sobbing Kitty, a comforting Kurt, and d Bobby Drake sat on a couch across the room. He walked into the kitchen where Ororo, Logan, Rogue, Amara, and Warren, who had come in for the funeral, were standing. No one spoke. No one needed to.

He collapsed into a chair and put his head in his arms. After a moment he felt motherly hands rubbing his back, "It's not your fault, Scott."

Even he could hear the uncertainty in Ororo's musical voice. He nearly laughed, but didn't. It would have come out as a cry anyway.

When he didn't raise his head, Ororo motioned for Rogue and Amara to follow her, probably to calm the now loudly crying Kitty down. After a moment, Scott raised his head to look at Logan, "Do you know where she went this time?"

"Not a clue. If she wanted me, or anyone else, to know where she was, she'd tell us," he shrugged. "How are you holding up?"

"Not well," he admitted.

Warren laughed, but it was an evil, condemning sound. The older man walked out the door in the opposite direction that Ororo and the girls had gone as fresh tears made their way down his picture perfect face. Logan sighed and rubbed his temples. Scott shot him a curious glance.

"Do you remember when you broke up with Jean last year?"

"Of course I do," he shuddered. "I thought she was going to kill me."

"When you were enjoying the single life once again, she ran off for some comfort, and found it in Warren's arms. It seems that she only came back to you to get back at him for him hurting her," Logan groaned.

Scott was stunned, "So nothing between us was real?"

"Oh, I'm sure part of it was. You two were in love for a time before and feelings like that don't just disappear, and Jean was known to be rather possessive, but I believe that her affections at the core switched. She was just waiting for Warren to man up, and he was too late."

"That would explain his reason for hating me at the moment," he mused.

Logan looked at him seriously, "I'm going to make a suggestion and you're not going to like it, but hear me out."

Scott nodded.

"Find Lorna. Obviously, start after the funeral, but still find her. I don't know concretely where she is, but I have a feeling it's within the protection that her half-siblings can provide her. They've been a part of the Avengers for a while now, stationed in New York's Stark Tower. Go there and find her, talk to her. I think even you can imagine how torn up she would be at having you leave her for a second time like that," he said, giving Scott a pointed look.

The younger man nodded, "Alright. After the funeral, I'll leave."

"Good man."

* * *

><p>The funeral was a sickeningly beautiful affair.<p>

They'd had the means to make it that way through her own family not exactly being low on the monetary scale and having help from her ex-lover and the Professor. It looked almost like a wedding, but darker, with the chairs being set up the same way. Instead of a waiting pastor at the end of the aisle, there was a white and gold casket, lined with a golden satin.

Inside the casket lay a daughter, sister, aunt, lover, student, friend, and X-man. Her bright red hair fanned around her, laced with delicate white flowers. She was dressed in an emerald green sweater and white pleated skirt. In her hands she held a bouquet of white, green, and gold flowers. Her ballet flats were golden. A relaxed smile that looked so natural she actually looked like she was sleeping lay upon her powered rose lips.

No one was sure if that made it better or worse, that she may be happier in death than in life. Everyone knew who they wanted to blame, whether it be themselves or the more common target of Scott Summers. Few, however, knew that the right blame to place was on the corpse in the casket at the front of the crowd. It didn't really matter though. One of their own was dead.

Ever so slowly, the crowd each placed a white lily around her body. Her skin had been painted to look a bit more than than her usual pale complexion allowed, but now Scott was glad for it. All of the white around her was pulling her complexion in that same light way. She would have been a translucent ghastly color, enough to frighten the few small children present. Now she was just as beautiful as she had been living.

It was disgusting.

Tears were a common sight among the cheeks of those present. The only ones not to shed one were Logan, Scott, and Warren. All knew there was no point of making a spectacle of themselves when they would be alone in a matter of minutes.

Slowly the lid to her cage was lowered and bolted shut, sealing her inside forever. Then that cage was lowered into the ground and covered with dirt. Just as the last pat was placed on top of the pile of earth, it began to rain.

Most of the crowd ran for cover inside of the school. Others stayed outside to pay their final respects, rain be damned. Scott and Warren were the exceptions.

Both walked to their cars, both still hadn't cried, and both hated themselves more than anyone else for the death of the woman they had just buried. Warren left for a life of seclusion. Scott left for a final attempt of fixing what had been broken.

**One chapter, the final chapter, left and then we're done! What do you think the confrontation between Lorna and Scott will have?**


	13. The Final Confrontation

Before he'd even fully exited the car, Pietro was standing right there, fisting Scott's shirt into his hand and glaring into his face, "If you're here to make her feel worse, you can leave. Now."

Scott shook his head, "I just want to talk with her."

"Oh, let him go, Pietro," Wanda said, appearing behind her twin. "He can't do any worse damage than he's already done."

Pietro let him go roughly and Scott walked inside the intimidating building. A nice woman in there named Carol Danvers directed Scott to the library where he found his green haired friend.

"Hello, Lorna."

She jumped at the sound and dropped her book, "Scott!"

He picked it up for her, "Are you alright?"

"How did you know where I was?"

Scott decided to leave Logan out of it, "I had a hunch your siblings would be protecting you. I guess I was right."

"How was the funeral?"

Scott flinched, "Long, sad, and entirely too exhausting."

Lorna sighed and rubbed her temples, "You should go."

"...what?"

She looked him dead in the eye, "I'm sure you want to talk to me about a lot and feel like I'm rushing this, but I don't want to talk to you. I don't want to see you. I don't want you in my life anymore."

He was sure he looked stupid, his mouth hanging open, "What do you mean?"

She let out a groan of frustration, "Do I have to spell it out for you? Nothing will work for us if we're together. Maybe we're supposed to hate each other, I don't know, but I can't keep doing this. I'll go fucking insane!"

"Please," he choked out. "Don't do this! You're my best friend."

She laughed, an evil sound, "I haven't been your best friend in years. Many long years. Just go, Scotty."

He looked at her, the woman he'd thought he'd known and realized what she'd noticed before, "We really won't work, will we?"

Lorna shook her head, "Sorry, Slim. It's just not in the cards."

Slowly he stood and walked to the door, "What will you do now?"

"Work here for now and then help Alison rebuild the restaurant," she laughed. "I don't really have anywhere else to go. What about you?"

He grinned sadly, "If you're ever in Alaska, look me up."

She nodded and opened her book again. He walked out, feeling overwhelmingly sad, but walking outside to where his car, filled with boxes of his possessions was waiting, he also felt a great sense of relief.

He was free. He could do anything. Maybe he wasn't meant for Lorna, but Jean hadn't been meant for him either. Maybe she was still out there, somewhere, waiting for him.

That, and that alone, gave him the hope he needed to stick the key in the ignition and head off toward his new home.

**I have no idea what the hell happened to the plan I had for this story, since it all went to shit in the handbasket. Please review and tell me how much it sucked so hopefully it won't happen again. Maybe I can beat it out of me. If you liked this at all, or if you just want to yell at me some more, please go like my Facebook page (link on my profile).**

**Thanks for reading!**


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